


And Baby Makes Four

by WindChimeGhost



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor (Movies)
Genre: AU, Action/Adventure, Baby, Brothers, Gen, Horror, Humor, Loki Feels, Loki-centric, Lokiisahorriblebabysitter, Mortal Loki, Mystery, Non-Sexual Spanking, Suspense, Thorsdaughter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-17
Updated: 2018-08-07
Packaged: 2019-01-18 20:26:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12395598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WindChimeGhost/pseuds/WindChimeGhost
Summary: Thor and Jane are married and living in Florida, with Loki as a roommate. Just when Loki gets bored and frustrated with living with his brother and new sister-in-law, weird things start happening that sets the trickster on edge. Before long, Jane gives birth to her and Thor’s first child: a daughter. But is there something sinister lurking and waiting to kidnap the child? And will Loki have to seek out help from Dr. Strange?Sort of a random AU fic that got stuck in my head, so I had to write it out. Just something for fun.(Rated T for creepy/disturbing content and some mild non-sexual spanking.)





	1. The Shadow

**Author's Note:**

> ~ Critique not desired ~
> 
> ~ I apologize to all of my readers for disappearing for most of this year. Yes, I’m still alive. So much has been going on that I, sadly, haven’t had time to work on fanfics like I wanted to. =( A lot of the fics I was working on earlier this year had to be put on hiatus because summer ended up being a total mad house. Long story of which I won't bore everyone with. On top of everything, I was also working like crazy trying to fix up my first full-size book to publish this fall. It’s been published and is now available!!! Yay!!! 8D *happy dance* If you’re interested in checking it out and supporting my original work, you can go to my author website for links to where it can be purchased: https://melissalyle.wordpress.com/ It’s available in both paperback and ebook, and can be purchased through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and a few other places. If you like superheroes, you’re sure to love my new series! =) 
> 
> Please be patient with me from here on out. I expect a lot of long delays when it comes to updating my fanfics due to working on books. It would help me greatly if my readers understand this and make an effort to be patient. I fully understand that it’s frustrating waiting on new chapters to be added to ongoing fics you find that you enjoy following, but sometimes other things in life have to come first. I will try my best to update fanfics when possible. That’s all I can say. ~
> 
> Anyway…I wasn’t planning to upload this fic until I had all or most of it already written up, because I’m tired of uploading my in-progress fics only to become busy elsewhere and they end up being left hanging. It’s frustrating for me, and I know it’s frustrating for my readers. But, I really wanted to upload something to let everyone know I’m still here and that I haven’t forgotten about my fics. Since we’re nearing the end of the year already, I really want to try getting some new fics uploaded so they can have a 2017 stamp on them. I already have most of this story planned and mapped out in notes. I just need to find time to write each chapter.
> 
> This is a spin-off story of sorts that’s loosely based on and inspired by the ‘The Trouble with Loki’ fic I started co-writing with a friend last year (2016).
> 
> For those who don’t know, Torunn is Thor’s daughter in ‘The Next Avengers’ animated movie. She also appears briefly in a few of the comics, but she got her start from the movie, I think. Normally, she’s the daughter of Thor and Sif, but in this story, I’ve made her to be Thor and Jane’s daughter. But she IS an official Marvel character, just to make that clear. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t make such a drastic change since I’m usually a stickler for keeping with canon. But I thought I’d bend the rules a little for this fic since I couldn’t come up with a good child OC for them. And I kinda want to stay away from OCs as much as possible anyway because I really don’t like working with them when it comes to fanfics unless I absolutely have to (and I know some people don’t like reading fanfics with OCs, too, which I totally understand). Since this fic fits into the movie-verse, I figured I could get away with changing a few small things, mainly because the MCU is a unique continuity all its own.
> 
>  
> 
> Loki/Thor/Dr. Strange and all related characters © Marvel
> 
> Fanfic and plot ©2017 by me (please do not take, use, or edit without permission)

Loki tied one end of the sheet to the leg of his bed and lowered the other end over the windowsill. It wasn’t long enough to reach all the way to the ground, though. If he used it to climb down, which he intended to do, he would have to let go and free fall the last ten feet, bounce off the grill, and crash into the patio chairs. That would not do since it would alert Thor and Jane.

Grumbling, he pulled it back in…but it snagged on something. He leaned his head out the window to see what it was. A corner of the sheet was tightly entangled in the coral honeysuckle on the trellis next to the house. He wasn’t sure how that happened since all he did was toss the sheet out the window, but it didn’t surprise him that his attempt to sneak out of the house was failing in every way possible.

He rested his arms on the windowsill and peered out at the unnatural shadows the moon cast across the backyard. A cool breeze blew through the air and ruffled his hair and the curtains, bringing with it the smell of the ocean. He soaked it up, basking in the tranquility and brief relief from the heat it offered.

Somewhere down the street, a dog barked, disturbing the moment.

Loki sighed and hung his head.

So much had happened over the past two months. Thor and Jane getting married and moving to Florida was just the beginning. Now he was rooming with them—but not by choice. After Odin saw fit to make him mortal as a punishment, he elected Thor to look after him—as if he was a child in need of a babysitter or something. That was bad enough on its own, but Thor handcuffing him to his chair during the wedding was a bit uncalled for. It wasn’t like he was planning to run out in the middle of the ceremony or anything… Okay, maybe he had entertained the thought a few times, but he never planned to actually go through with it.

Since Thor and Jane were now married, it meant Loki was officially part of their weird little family, whether he liked it or not. It was something Jane constantly reminded the trickster of on days when things got tense between them. He was part of their family…he wasn’t alone or unwanted.

Loki admitted that the setup was okay. Even though he was basically on house arrest, it felt good to be part of a family again, especially one where he was Jane’s brother-in-law. She was kind to him and actually went out of her way to listen to him and attempt to understand, which was a new sensation to the trickster. The last person who was that nice to him was Frigga. Even though Jane had been upset at the prospect of being his sister-in-law, she eventually relented when she saw he wasn’t as bad as she first thought. The fact that he was weak and vulnerable in his mortal state helped too.

The only thing he didn’t like was Thor being there, but whatever. You have to take the bad with the good sometimes.

However, as the months dragged on, Loki was more and more starting to feel like a third wheel. He wanted his privacy, and he respected that Thor and Jane wanted theirs, too. It was embarrassing, albeit amusing, coming into a room when Jane and Thor were…sharing a moment. And there had been a few awkward moments when Jane accidentally came into his room when he was getting dressed. Needless to say, all of them quickly learned the importance of knocking before entering the first few weeks.

At least his bedroom had a private adjoining bathroom, so there were never skirmishes over who got first dibs and who had to painfully wait in line. And Jane always made sure there was plenty of food to go around, knowing how big of an eater Thor could be.

But he still had days where he wished he could be completely alone, or better yet go somewhere else. True that his bedroom was private, but he wanted a special place that only he knew of…like when he used to live in Asgard. He was growing tired of not being allowed to go where he wanted, and it was making him irritable. What was worse is he was getting tired of feeling like no one trusted him.

Even so, he did have to thank and admire Jane for going out of her way to see that he got out of the house as often as possible, even if it _was_ in the company of herself or Thor…or both. He enjoyed his outings with Jane the most. She took him to fun places like the library, the museum, the beach, the aquarium, and the little antique bookstore and coffee shop down by the boardwalk.

Loki pulled on his sheet again, trying to work it loose of the plant.

The sound of a throat being cleared reached Loki’s ears and brought him to attention. With guilt written all over his face, he snapped his head around to see Thor’s form filling the doorway to his bedroom. Like Loki, he was dressed in nothing but a pair of shorts. His hair was pulled up in a sloppy man bun, attesting to the fact that the thunder god had not yet mastered styling his own hair. Loki didn’t understand why he insisted on wearing his hair that way. Yeah, it was hot outside, but seriously…a ponytail would look more dignified.

“Loki, what are you doing?” Thor asked evenly.

“Uhhhh…picking honeysuckle,” Loki lied. He gave the sheet a hard yank and pulled a chunk of honeysuckle blooms up with it. He grinned and pointed at it.

Thor shook his head sadly. Did Loki actually believe him to be that stupid? He uncrossed his arms and walked forward.

Loki dropped the sheet and branch and backpedaled directly into the wall. “No, no, I wasn’t…”

Without saying a word, Thor grabbed the trickster by the bicep and planted three hard swats on his backside and pushed Loki into the nearest corner.

“You know better, brother,” Thor said gently, giving Loki a firm glare. “As long as you remain mortal, I am your guardian. And sneaking out of the house without my consent will not be tolerated.”

Loki scowled hatefully in return as he watched Thor untie the sheet and casually toss it across the bed.

“I want you to put this back on the bed where it belongs,” Thor said, pointing to the sheet. He tossed the branch of honeysuckle out the window.

“How did you know?” Loki asked.

“I just had a feeling.” He glanced around the room as if he expected to see another means of escape. “You begging to go on a night stroll on the beach at dinner was one clue. But it was Jane who said I might want to check on you and make sure you weren’t planning anything.”

Loki’s bottom lip pooched out and his jaws worked.

Thor pointed a finger at him. “What I gave you was a warning. Please don’t push me to go all the way.”

When Thor left the room and shut the door, Loki gave his rear one last rub and stuck his tongue out at the door. Even though Thor couldn’t see it, it still felt good to do. He walked to the bed, where he set to work tucking the top sheet back into place.

Oh, and there was that, too. Loki couldn’t do anything he wanted without Thor constantly looking over his shoulder, policing him and scolding him…or punishing him in most unbecoming ways.

There was grounding, which Thor quickly found to be ineffective. He already suffered through enough of that at all hours of each day since he wasn’t allowed to leave the house and yard without Thor’s permission. Next there was standing in the corner, which Thor already used on him a few times. Now there was this…the most humiliating of all.

Loki pulled down his shorts in the back enough to look at the redness Thor’s palm made. He cringed and roughly pulled them back in place and continued rubbing, then walked to the window.

Something at the edge of the yard caught his eye: a dark spot. Of course, there were dark spots all over the area. It was night, and the moon cast shadows. But something about this spot wasn’t right. It was unusually dark…darker than the shadows. It was also long—stretching out at least seven feet across the span of grass it fell on. There was nothing at the base of it that would cast a shadow of that shape. Plus, from where Loki stood, the moon was now casting shadows from an angle. The dark spot appeared to be connected with the fence and conflicted with all the other ‘real’ shadows.

The longer Loki stood there, the more uneasy he became until an icy chill crept down his spine. He stared at the thing for a total of two minutes, not able to take his eyes off it. Then whatever it was wriggled and quickly darted out of view in an unnatural way, like some sort of snake.

Taken by surprise, Loki blinked and his eyes flitted around, trying to locate whatever it had been. But it was nowhere to be seen.

He leaned forward and peered directly below. The light from the living room shone through the sliding glass doors and flooded the patio in a warm golden glow. Thor and Jane’s shadows moved across the bricks as they made themselves comfortable on the couch, blissfully unaware. The light went out, replaced by the flickering white light of the TV screen.

Loki glanced across the yard one last time and nervously swallowed. He shakily and quickly closed the window and locked it, lowering the blinds. Then he turned around and blankly stared forward at the bed. The digital clock on the nightstand read eight twenty-five, he noted. He wasn’t sure why it was important to notice that small detail, but something about it felt right. Finally, he walked to his bookshelves.

 

Two hours passed, and a knock at the door pulled Loki out of his book. He uttered an annoyed sigh.

“Come in,” he called out, lowering his book.

The door opened and in walked Jane. “Hey,” she said, sitting down on the side of the bed. “I heard Thor stopped you from climbing out the window.”

Loki snorted and rolled his eyes. “Yeah. What else did he tell you?”

She shrugged. “He didn’t tell me anything else. Why? Is there something else I should know?”

“No...” Loki cleared his throat.

“I know you really wanted to go on a walk tonight, but you know I have to get up early for work in the morning. Tomorrow is the day I have to give S.H.I.E.L.D. my reports in person.” She patted his knee. “If you still want to go for a beach walk, I’ll take you tomorrow night. How’s that sound?”

A small smile played across his lips, and he gave a curt nod. “Sounds good.”

Jane held up a finger. “But only if you’re a good boy.”

Loki looked from her finger to her face, hesitating. He gave a nod.

Jane’s smile widened. “Great! Tomorrow night it is, then.” She stood, taking the sheet and pulling it up around him to tuck him in. But Loki stopped her.

“I want to read a little while longer,” he explained.

“All right,” she said as she reached out and ruffled his hair. “Good night, Loki.”

“Night, Jane.”


	2. A Light in the Ocean

When they first moved to Florida around the end of May, Loki had complained nonstop about the stifling hot, humid weather. Even after two months, he still had a hard time coping with the miserable feeling of waking up during the night sticky and drowning in his own sweat. It became commonplace for the trickster to take three or more showers a day...even if it was just to stand in the cold running water without actually bathing.

Any other time he wouldn’t be caught dead wearing shorts, but after two or three days in this place, he quickly found himself giving in and stripping down to his underwear. He would have gone farther than that if it hadn’t been for his stupid brother. Thor had made him put on shorts while he was in the company of Jane, telling him it was indecent to parade around the house in his boxers. Although Loki failed to understand what the difference was between regular shorts and boxer shorts. Thor should have just been glad he was wearing something and wasn’t walking around naked...like he felt like doing. After begging and pleading, he managed to convince Jane to crank up the AC, despite her complaints of it running up their electric bill. Either she did it, or Loki would do it himself when no one was looking. Just use a fan, she had told him at first. Yeah, right. All fans are good for in this kind of heat is circulating the hot air.

The mosquitoes also gave Loki another thing to complain about...and another reason to hate Florida. The first night, he made the mistake of sleeping with his bedroom windows open, and buck naked. He woke up the next morning covered from head to toe in itchy red welts. He even had them in places where he quickly found out mosquito bites should never be. He realized too late how awkward it sounded when he tried telling Thor about his uncomfortable experience, and Jane had a hard time holding in laughter. Poor Loki grew five shades of red and flew out of the room completely embarrassed. That whole day had been filled with grumbling, complaining, and a disgruntled trickster walking around with dots of Calamine lotion on every inch of his body.

Then there was the rain, but he didn’t mind it so much since he found it soothing and relaxing and good for stirring his thoughts. He enjoyed curling up with a good book by the window and watch the raindrops race down the glass.

All of that aside, there _was_ one thing Loki _did_ like about this part of Midgard: the ocean.

The first time Jane took him and Thor to the beach, the trickster found himself falling in love. It was much too hot and crowded for him during the day, of course, and there was no way he was going to wear shorts in public.

That’s why he enjoyed coming at night.

Loki strolled leisurely down the stretch of beach. He stopped once to pick up a pebble and tossed it into the water. He walked a little farther before stopping to sit atop one of the jagged rocks jutting out of the sand.

After several visits, this quickly became his favorite spot. It was far enough away from the crowded areas where he could be alone and enjoy time to himself. It was the one place he found in this miserable place where he could feel free.

Even now he stared out over the body of water, illuminated by the fiery glow of the setting sun. The cool, salty breeze gently played with his hair, and the sound of waves lazily lapping the shore lulled him into a state of calmness he hadn’t felt for several long weeks.

Glancing to his left, he could see Thor and Jane walking hand in hand at the other end of the beach. The couple was obviously staying far enough away to give him space.

The normal activity common to beaches had waned, but there were still a few people who were getting in as much time as they could before it got completely dark. Kids ran in and out of the water. Adults were busy folding up their chairs and putting away their beach towels. A few surfers were attempting to ride their last waves.

Loki bent over and picked up a shell to play with. His thoughts drifted to the current situation, his life in general, and the trapped feeling that constantly clung to him like shackles.

He thought about the difficulties of adjusting to his mortality. Just when he thought it couldn’t get worse, there was always something that surprised him. Like sleeping in a wrong position all night and feeling aches and pains in places he didn’t know he had when he woke up. Then there was experiencing cold for the first time. Stubbing a toe on the chair in the living room and feeling like someone shot him. There was also the week he got a stomach virus. He definitely did not want to experience that again.

And there were the mosquitoes…

Loki slapped one of the little vampires when it landed on his hand. When he still had his power, he would have enjoyed turning into a mosquito just to annoy Thor. Now, he would be happy to never see another one again.

How could humans live like this and continue surviving? Loki silently admitted that when he had the stomach virus, he was tempted to tell Thor to swing his hammer and put him out of his misery.

Jane had been there to help him through a lot of it. So much so that he was starting to think of her as a mother more than a sister-in-law. She was the one who had given him the Calamine lotion…and suggested he close his windows at nights and turn on the floor fan.

But the worst part of all was being powerless. Loki never realized how dependant on his magic he’d become. There were days when he tried doing the simplest things by using magic, only to remember he no longer had magic. It felt as though someone had cut off a limb…something that was a normal part of him…something that was part of who he was. And that hurt more than being mortal.

He stared at his hands. They used to be able to weave spells that could make illusions or pull weapons out of thin air. Now…another mosquito bite slowly appeared on his knuckle. He angrily scratched at it.

A seagull uttered a shrill squawk and brought Loki back to reality. The sun had set, and the stars were beginning to appear in the dark blue sky above.

He got to his feet and stretched, placing a hand behind him to rub out the numbness in his rear…yet another surprise of mortality.

He was about to go find Jane and Thor when something in the ocean caught his eyes.

Directly in front of him, not more than about thirty yards away, was a swirling, glowing mass of dark purple on top of the water. It was round in shape and looked akin to a whirlpool. The clockwise movement swirled the water into a black gaping hole in the center.

His brow furrowed as he tried to understand what he was looking at. Wanting a closer look, he made his way through the rocks and stood as close to the edge of the surf as he could without falling in. His sneakers got wet, but for the time being, he didn’t care. His focus was trained on the oddity in front of him.

If he didn’t know better, he could swear it looked like some kind of…portal. But that was impossible. Wasn’t it? It didn’t look like one of Yggdrasil’s portals, that was for sure. He should know since he regularly used the secret ones to get around Heimdall’s prying eyes. They were usually invisible. Normally, you didn’t know you walked through one until you came out on the other side and found yourself standing in a different realm.

Loki stared at the phenomenon before him, his curiosity growing the longer he stood there. He wanted to go out there and see what it was—where it led—but the water standing between them made it difficult.

He blinked…and just like that, it was gone. The ocean was normal again.

Startled, he looked around to see if there was a chance of it opening somewhere else, but the surrounding area was calm and quiet.

“Loki? Are you okay?”

He turned toward the voice. Jane and Thor were standing next to him, looking worried. Funny, he didn’t hear them approach. He peered out at the ocean then back to Jane. He gave a nod. “Yeah, I’m fine. I just”—he waved at the surrounding scenery—“got caught up in the whole mood—got lost in my thoughts.”

Thor, a look of concern still on his face, glanced toward the area of ocean Loki was looking at. “Did you see something, brother?”

“No. I was just getting a better view of the ocean.” He smiled and tilted his head back and enjoyed the cool breeze blowing in his face. He inhaled and exhaled.

“We were talking about stopping to get a bite to eat before going home,” Jane said. “Are you ready to leave, or do you want to stay a little while longer?”

Loki looked at the ocean again, weighing the choices. A shudder coursed through him. Something about the beach suddenly felt different. He looked behind him at the dark, jagged forms of the rocks. Past that was something else…a patch of black darker than the night on the side of the largest rock. It loomed there like some kind of ominous vulture waiting for its next meal to die.

“Loki?” Jane’s voice said again.

“Hm…what?” Loki turned to her. “Getting something to eat sounds good.” He forced a weak, nervous smile.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Thor asked, concern lacing his voice. He studied his brother carefully.

“I’m fine. Really,” he assured.

Nothing more was said as they walked to the opposite end of the beach until they reached the boardwalk leading to the shopping district. Here they made their way through the throngs of tourists and bicyclists to a little quaint restaurant that Jane said was supposed to serve fresh seafood. Loki knew it quite well since she often commented about wanting trying it on their trips to the antique bookstore.

Much to Loki’s dismay, Jane wanted to window-shop as they passed by the stores, but he hurried them along as discreetly as possible. The quicker they got inside someplace the better he would feel. He caught himself stealing glances toward the beach. He wasn’t sure what was out there, but he wanted to put as much distance between it as he could. Any other time, he would feel uncomfortable being in such a large crowd of mortals, but now, as they walked along the storefront, he was glad for the distraction. Maybe whatever it was wouldn’t come near them with so many people nearby.

He also didn’t know why this thing was spooking him so badly. Again, any other time, he’d jump at the chance to explore a strange, new phenomenon. But for some reason, this…thing…whatever it was…filled him with an unnatural dread that made him want to get as far away from it as he could. And that worried him more than he cared to admit. He’d faced countless creatures in his lifetime, but none of them had made him feel the way he was currently feeling.

“What’s your hurry?” Jane said with a chuckle after Loki urged her forward for the tenth time.

“Who says I’m in a hurry?” Loki shrugged. “I’m just hungry.”

“If you don’t mind me saying so, you’ve been acting awfully peculiar tonight…more so than usual,” Thor said. “Are you sure everything is all right?”

“Everything’s fine, especially now that I’ve had my beach walk.” Loki smiled.

They entered the restaurant and found a table. After perusing the menu and ordering, they leaned back in their seats to relax.

Thor and Jane started up a small conversation about the shops and tourist traps they had seen on the way. Most of it Loki didn’t pay much attention to, his thoughts drifting back to the portal. He wasn’t going to tell Thor or Jane what he’d seen. Not yet. He wanted to know more about what he was dealing with before he mentioned it to them. Could be it was nothing. If it was a portal to one of the other realms, then maybe he could use it to get out of the imprisonment he was going through—if he could somehow sneak out of the house one night…

On the other hand…was he doing the right thing by not telling Thor? If it was a threat to this world, he would have to eventually tell him, so he and his Avenger pals could, you know, save it or whatever.

“You’re awfully quiet.” Jane’s voice brought him out of his thoughts. There was nothing unusual about it. She knew Loki could be the quiet type when he wanted to be. But, like Thor, she found his sudden change in behavior unusual even for him. “Care to share?”

Loki shrugged. “I’m tired,” he replied. He put the shell he’d picked up on the beach on the table in front of him.

“Oooh, that’s beautiful,” Jane said, leaning forward.

Loki tapped it against the table. “Yeah, it is. But it has a hole in it.”

“That’s not a bad thing. When we get home, I’ll get you a string so you can make it into a necklace.”

Loki gave another small shrug. “Why would I want to do that?”

“Why?” Jane giggled. “I dunno. Just as a keepsake, maybe?”

Thor eyed him silently. He had the feeling his brother wasn’t telling them everything, but he didn’t press the matter. It could be that he was just imagining. He knew Loki had had a bad time of it over the past few months. The recent changes to all of their lives had given Loki reason to draw back into his shell from time to time.

He was doing his best to be there for Loki, and was making an effort to be more understanding and supportive of his little sibling. It was hard. Empathy and consolation were not his strong suits, he admitted. Jane was better in that department, and he’d found it easy to pass Loki off to her whenever the trickster was in need of one or the other. Mostly out of fear he’d put his foot in his mouth and say the wrong thing and make matters worse between them. But within the past month, Thor made up his mind to be there for Loki more. Since they were now a family, his brother needed both of them. It was time Loki stopped living in the shadows and started understanding that he really was loved…by all of them.

Thor smiled and reached out to lovingly squeeze Loki on the back of his neck, then reached to pick up the shell to look at it closer.

“It _is_ pretty,” he said. “It never fails to amaze me at the number of wonders that inhabit this realm.”

“If you’re easily amazed over this, you should join us on our trip to the aquarium sometime,” Jane said, taking a swig of her water.

Loki smiled.

Thor thought a moment and then gave a quick nod. “I might.” He looked straight at Loki, smiling. “Perhaps you’d like to show me around since you’ve been there several times already.”

Loki blinked, not really sure what to say to that. “Sure,” he answered timidly.

“This is fantastic!” Jane said. “We can go this Saturday. I’ve got the day off. We can go to the aquarium and stop by the park for a picnic lunch afterward.”

“It’s too hot,” Loki complained, scowling. “Unless you want me prancing about naked, the answer is no.”

Thor and Jane laughed.

“Don’t you dare,” Jane said between laughter. “Although I’m sure there are some women out there who’d enjoy seeing your naked butt.” She gave Loki a playful wink.

Loki perked up, a pleasant smile creasing his lips at the compliment. “You think so?” He looked over at the closest waitress and waggled his eyebrows.

Jane laughed harder now that she had succeeded in stirring him up.

“Don’t get any ideas,” Thor warned, pointing a finger at him. “Unless you want your adoring audience seeing that you have a red posterior.”

Loki’s smile melted, and he moved uneasily in his seat, throwing a quick glance at Jane. The woman cleared her throat as she tried hiding an amused smirk.

Thor spanking him was no secret. In fact, Jane had been the one to suggest Thor use it on him when everything else had failed. The first time had been a shock to all of them, and an experience none of them would forget. Suggesting Thor spank Loki was one thing, but to be in the house when Thor actually tanned the little trickster’s bottom was another thing entirely. It wasn’t until halfway through the crying and screaming that it hit Jane how comical and awkward the situation was. Even though Loki had deserved it, she still felt sorry for him and felt bad that she was the one to suggest it in the first place.

That’s when she had quietly sneaked away to his bedroom when Thor was watching TV and sat with him, giving him a hug and whatever comfort she could.

Jane smiled fondly at remembering the look of confusion and child-like innocence on his tearstained face.

She reached over and gave Loki’s hand a gentle squeeze.

When their food arrived, the rest of dinner went well. Loki’s concerns faded and he joined in on Thor and Jane’s conversation, which mostly consisted of the various stores Jane still wanted to check out. Thor, for one reason or other, mentioned he wanted to take up bicycling and asked if there was a place nearby for purchasing such a vehicle. The thought of Thor riding a bike momentarily made Loki laugh.

When they returned home, however, his fears started to resurface. Visions of the portal and the black thing he’d seen on the beach played through his mind on loop.

“Here we go,” Jane said, walking into his bedroom. “I found a strip of leather cord you can use. It’s a little long, but we can cut it to fit.”

Loki handed her the shell and watched her thread the cord through the hole. “There.” She smiled and motioned for Loki to bend over. He did so, and she placed the cord around his neck and measured how long it should be. Then she took a small pair of scissors and cut off the access and tied a knot in the end. She handed it back to Loki.

He took it and put it around his neck to dangle against his bare chest. Smiling, he looked over at Jane.

“Perfect!” She beamed. “Now you really look like you belong in Florida.”

Loki smiled as he watched Jane leave. He looked down at the shell, taking it in his hand and running a finger over it. He enjoyed hearing Jane’s compliment, but his thoughts were a thousand miles away.

Getting up from his bed, he walked to the window overlooking the backyard. Here he hesitated. He wanted to look out, but he was afraid of what he might see there. What if the black shadow thing was back? He was almost sure it and the portal were connected somehow. But what did it all mean?

Thoughts of the Chitauri and Thanos entered his mind, and a chill went down his spine. Had they found him again? No, it couldn’t be them. None of what he’d seen so far acted like them. If it was the Chitauri, they would have already invaded by now and taken him prisoner.

Quickly, Loki drew back the curtains and pulled up the blinds and peeked out. Much to his relief, there was nothing there.


	3. What They Don't Know

The next morning, Loki was up early after a fitful and hot night full of tossing and turning and sweating. The clip-on fan over his bed helped a little, but it, along with the air conditioner, still wasn’t enough.

On top of that, his mind was preoccupied with the events of the night before. Finding that sleep wasn’t going to come, he got out of bed, took a shower, and made his way downstairs. Thor and Jane were still asleep, so he padded barefoot to the cabinet over the stove and set to work pouring himself a bowl of cereal. It would hold him over until Jane fixed a proper breakfast—bacon or sausage, he hoped.

Yawning, he sat down at the table and stared blearily at his food. Instead of cereal, all he saw was a swirling mass of purple as his thoughts drifted to the portal. 

Then suddenly, he was there…on the beach. The portal was directly in front of him, turning and spinning like some kind of gaping maw. The scenery around him melted into darkness, the portal coming closer. An inky black cloud came out of it and hovered above him. Its body conjoined with the rest of the darkness until he couldn’t tell where one ended and the other began. As he watched, he felt every hair on his body stand on end.

An impish whisper echoed around him, but he couldn’t tell what it was saying. It sounded like gibberish, or some language he wasn’t familiar with.

One thing he did know, though. He could feel the black thing as it closed in around him…caressing him

And he didn’t like it.

He waved his arms around, trying to brush it off. He backpedaled, attempting to get away. He tried to cry out, but no sound came out of his mouth. He panicked, stumbled, fell on his butt. The dark inkiness coiled around his ankles like snakes and attempted to pull him toward the portal. He kicked at it wildly and scooted away.

Loki started awake, his pulse racing. His eyes flitted around the kitchen as he took in his surroundings in a sweeping glance.

It had been a dream…just a dream.

He relaxed, realizing he’d fallen asleep at the table. He got his breathing under control and straightened, shakily picking up his spoon and shoving cereal into his mouth.

 

Loki was lounging on the couch in the living room when Jane and Thor finally awoke. An opened box of Lucky Charms was wedged between his side and the couch arm. Without turning his head, Loki’s eyes shifted from the TV to Jane.

“Well, look at you. Someone’s up bright and early,” Jane commented. “Did you sleep well?”

“No,” Loki mumbled, shoving a few pieces of dry cereal into his mouth. “I spent most of the night sweating. Got tired of it and decided to get up.”

“Sorry to hear,” said Jane.

Loki gave a small shrug and turned his attention back to his Netflix show.

Not bothering to comment further, Jane gave Thor a kiss and moved to the kitchen to begin fixing breakfast.

Thor sat down next to Loki. He ruffled his brother’s hair playfully, then reached across to grab hold of the cereal box.

“Loki!” Thor said annoyingly after peering into the box. “You ate all the little mallows again.”

Loki smirked, gave a quick shrug, and leaned against the couch arm, not really in the mood for conversation.

Thor smiled, reaching over to massage the back of Loki’s neck.

The trickster remained silent all through breakfast, prompting Jane to question him, asking him if he felt okay. He said he was fine and commenced to eat and enjoy his plate of bacon.

For the rest of the morning and the first part of the afternoon, aside from taking a quick lunch break, Loki locked himself away in his room and pored over his books he’d brought with him from Asgard. He searched through each page, trying to find something that looked similar to what he’d seen.

After exhausting his books on known portals, he went on to the next book, and the next and the next, even searching through the ones not dealing with portals. When he got to the last and still hadn’t come up with anything helpful, he didn’t feel discouraged. It just meant that whatever it was he saw wasn’t Asgardian. This meant he needed to get closer to it to study it. But, how?

Loki sat in the middle of the floor of his bedroom with books piled high around him, and stared out the window. He wondered about the nature of the portal. Did it open up during the day, or was it only at night? As far as he knew, it seemed to be nocturnal.

Getting to his feet, he walked the short distance to the window and looked down. There was no black shadow to be seen on the sunny stretch of lawn. Only normal shadows cast by the various objects and the fence. He spotted a neighbor mowing their lawn. A woman jogged by on the street. And some kids were riding bikes farther down. Everything looked normal.

Turning, Loki walked out of the room and made his way downstairs and stopped for a few seconds. He could hear Thor watching TV in the living room. Then he walked to the small office and work area near the back of the house. He knocked lightly on the door.

“Come in,” Jane’s voice called from inside. He turned the knob and entered.

Jane was seated at a desk directly in front of him, looking over star charts and photos of constellations and other space phenomena while writing down notes. She looked up when Loki failed to speak.

“Oh, hi, Loki,” she said with a smile. “What’s up?”

Loki hesitated in the doorway, chewing on his lower lip. He looked down at himself and realized he was only wearing shorts. Even though everyone was used to seeing him that way by now, he still felt a bit self-conscious when he was around Jane. Although she insisted it was perfectly fine—whatever it took for him to be cool and comfortable in the hot weather.

“Come here,” Jane motioned. Letting his hand noisily slip from the doorknob, Loki padded forward and stopped next to Jane’s chair. Still smiling, Jane lifted a hand to rub his lower back. “Now, what’s bothering you?”

“Who says anything is bothering me?” Loki picked up a piece of Jane’s equipment to turn over in his hands.

Jane gave a light shrug. “Oh, I dunno. You act like you’ve been preoccupied since last night. And you come in here acting as if you want to ask me something. Either that, or you’re bored.”

“Jane, can you take me to the beach?” Loki finally asked.

“You just went there last night.”

“I know, but I want to go again. It’s…important that I do.”

“Why?”

“It’s just important.”

“Why is it so important?” she prodded playfully.

“It just is.”

Jane continued to rub his back. “You said yourself you don’t like going there during the day because it’s too hot.”

“I’ll make an exception this one time.”

“I’d like to, Loki, but you know I have work to do. I’ll probably be at it until late tonight.”

She couldn’t help noticing the disappointment on Loki’s face. Her smile returning, she grabbed one of the legs of his shorts and playfully tugged it downward, exposing his butt crack. Immediately, he dropped the object he had been holding in favor of pulling his shorts back in place.

“Stop,” he gently chided, grinning. It was a harmless teasing game Jane played with him whenever she wanted to get him smiling—sister-in-law annoying brother-in-law. He knew she’d never take it farther than that. It had truly annoyed him at first, but he eventually grew to accept and enjoy the attention.

“Come here, you,” Jane stretched out her arms, and Loki bent over to accept the hug she offered him. She rubbed and patted his back before Loki pulled away. “Go read or something, and stay out of trouble. If you’re good, I’ll fix spaghetti for dinner tonight.”

“And ice cream?” Loki asked hopefully.

Jane couldn’t help grinning. She ruffled his hair. “Yes, and ice cream. And afterward, we can even rent a new movie and pop some corn. How’s that sound?”

Loki grinned, his eyes lighting up.

She gently swatted his bottom. “Now, get out of here, you rascal, and let me work.”

Jane continued to grin long after Loki left and shut the door. She wasn’t sure if he really wanted to go to the beach or if he just wanted attention. Sometimes it was hard to tell with him.

Up in his room, Loki set to work putting his books back on their shelf. His attempt to get Jane to take him to the beach didn’t go as he planned, but no matter. He would still go to the beach, with or without Jane and Thor.

Loki was in a good mood when he arrived at the table for dinner that evening. And the mood lasted through the movie. He was pleased when Thor and Jane decided to go straight to bed afterward to spend some…alone time together. It meant he had the house to himself, such as it was.

 

Late that same night, after waiting and reading patiently for several hours, Loki made sure Thor and Jane were fast asleep. After he confirmed that they were, he tiptoed down the hallway, down the stairs, and to the sliding glass doors in the living room, gently and noiselessly sliding them open. He stepped through them onto the patio outside and bent over to wedge a brick in between the doors to keep them from locking on their own, which they were prone to do. Jane had been meaning to get them fixed.

A dog suddenly started barking two houses over, making him nearly jump out of his skin. He briefly thought he’d been found out. With his heart thumping wildly inside his chest, he darted quickly away from the patio, climbed over the fence, and landed on both feet in the middle of the one-way street in back of the neighborhood. The street would take him directly down to the boardwalk and the beach.

Loki’s tennis shoes thumped loudly through the quiet night as he ran down the deserted stretch of asphalt. The wind blowing in from the ocean rustled the trees overhead. He slowed down, coming to a stop under a streetlight, and glanced behind him. He knew that if Thor ever found out what he was doing, he wouldn’t be able to sit down for a week. This thought almost made him turn back.

Almost.

Thor wasn’t going to find out.

And neither was Jane.

What he had to do would only take a few minutes, an hour at the most. Then he’d be back home, in his bed.

Loki continued jogging toward the boardwalk.

When he reached the beach, Loki walked halfway down before turning on his flashlight. It wasn’t long before he arrived at his favorite grouping of rocks. Here he began searching…for what, he didn’t know. He ran the light beam over each rock near where he saw the black shadow. Nothing out of the ordinary, except for…

He hunkered next to one rock that caught his eyes and ran a finger over the large crack in it. Much to his surprise, the surface crumbled under his touch, and the rock gave way as if it were made of sand. He stood up and backed away, startled. He looked at his hand as if expecting it to do the same. Wiping it on his jeans, he looked around him. It seemed to be the only rock affected by…whatever this thing was.

Suddenly, there was an odd gurgling behind him. He turned and peered out toward the water, struggling to keep his balance on the rock he stood on.

The portal opened up about forty yards out to sea.

Keeping his eyes on it, Loki quickly hopped from rock to rock until he reached the edge of the ocean.

It looked bigger—wider—this time. And it remained there for several long seconds, turning and swirling hypnotically. Then, as quick as a blink of the eye, it closed and was gone.

Loki felt he was not alone. There was an obvious presence near that had not been there a second ago.

Slowly, he looked over his shoulder. There, the black shadow hovered near the rocks behind him—an ominous, slim mass that towered into the air like some kind of inky black ghost.

Loki froze, finding it impossible to move his feet. He felt his heart flutter inside his chest, and the unmistakable urge to curl up and hide somewhere. It was as if this thing was the embodiment of fear itself.

He slowly squatted down and picked up a pebble—or a shell, whichever it was. At the moment, Loki really didn’t care or notice. He stayed still, not taking his eyes off the black mass.

Then he threw the object in its direction. The stone—or shell—seemed to disappear the moment it came in contact with the shadow. He expected it to go right through it and hit the rocks in back of it, but no sound of rock hitting rock met his ears. It was as if the creature had swallowed it up.

In reaction to him tossing the stone, the thing struck out, and Loki blocked the attack with his flashlight. When the two met, his flashlight sparked, popped, and literally blew up in his hand. He yelped and stumbled backward, throwing the flashlight away from him. His fingers burned, but he didn’t have time to nurse them.

The thing struck again, this time catching Loki in the stomach. The wind was knocked out of him, and he was brought to his knees. When his senses returned, he quickly scrambled away...and ran. He ran as if Surtur himself and all the demons of Mulspelheim were chasing him.

Loki ran and didn’t stop until he arrived home. Here he flew over the top of the fence, landing in the flowerbed. He scrambled to his feet and flew through the opening in the patio doors, knocking the brick away, pulling the doors two, and locking them.

He backed away, his heart feeling like it could burst through his ribcage. He ran swiftly to the staircase, taking the stairs two at a time and disappeared into his bedroom, stopping briefly to make sure Jane and Thor were still asleep. They were. At least one thing had gone right tonight, he thought, and he wouldn’t have to go to bed with his butt in pain.

Immediately, he walked to the window to look out and make sure the shadow hadn’t followed him home. Much to his relief, there was nothing in the backyard.

He lifted a hand to tug at his shirt, and stopped. Blinking, he looked down.

Where the black shadow had punched him there was a large hole. He pulled his shirt off and stared at it closer, putting his hand through it. Parts of the material broke off and crumbled to the floor—decayed and rotted.

His hands shaking, Loki quickly tossed it in the trash can. He looked down to examine his stomach. Aside from some bruising that was starting to appear, his skin looked untouched, much to his relief.

He walked to the bathroom to take a shower and contemplate what just happened.


End file.
